- Former Montserrado County lawmaker Acarous Moses Gray has rebuked his successor, Rep. Prince Aquency Toles, for urging President Joseph Boakai to impose capital punishment on drug traffickers by executive order, calling the proposal unconstitutional and "an embarrassment."
Gray, who represented District #8 for more than a decade, said Toles' appeal disregards legislative responsibilities and Liberia's international commitments to abolish the death penalty.
"Stop the sentiment, get serious and submit an amendment to the existing drugs law," Gray wrote on Facebook. "Calling for capital punishment without a submitted amendment to the existing Act is showmanship and out of order legislatively. Such argument shows lack of understanding of your constitutional authority to make laws."
Toles Pushes Executive Order, Military Involvement
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Rep. Toles, nearly two years into office, has repeatedly pressed for the death penalty as a deterrent to narcotics trafficking. In a recent post, he called on Boakai to issue an executive order "to save this nation" and even suggested deploying the Armed Forces of Liberia against traffickers.
"Our country is being destroyed by drugs, and those who import this poison that kills our youths must be eliminated," Toles wrote.
Gray Counters With Law and Treaties
Gray countered that Liberia's Constitution gives lawmaking authority solely to the Legislature, not the President. He criticized Toles for failing to introduce any bills addressing drug enforcement.
"You are almost two years old in the Legislature and not a single bill on the fight against drugs you have submitted, but you are calling on your colleagues to ensure capital punishment," Gray said.
The former representative also reminded Toles that Liberia has signed international conventions against capital punishment. "Liberia is a signatory to international conventions that will not tolerate capital punishment and you didn't do your research before making mere political statement," Gray said.
Death Penalty Debate Resurfaces
Liberia retains capital punishment under its Penal Law but has not carried out executions in decades, making it "abolitionist in practice." The country ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 2005, pledging to abolish executions. In 2022, the Senate voted to repeal provisions allowing the death penalty, though the measure remains unresolved.
Meanwhile, public anger over narcotics is mounting. In August, thousands of women and youth marched in Monrovia demanding tougher drug laws, specialized courts and rehabilitation programs.
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Toles has leaned into that frustration by demanding harsher punishment, while Gray insists enforcement of existing laws and proper legislative process should take priority.
"The clash between Gray and Toles underscores a deeper divide over how far Liberia should go in its war on drugs -- and whether capital punishment has any place in that fight."
